The giraffe is the tallest land-living animal in the world. Its scientific name, Giraffe Camelopardalis refers back to its irregular brown patches on a its light coloured skin, it resembles a leopard's spots. The Giraffe can reach an incredible size of 4.3 to 5.2 meters. A fully grown male giraffe is 1200 kilograms whereas adult females can weigh up to 830 kilogrammes. The giraffe are related to deer but they are placed in a differnt family, The Okapi is the closest relative to the giraffe and both belong in the giraffidae family.
Habitat Giraffes can be found in the savannas where it is a dry and open woodland, especially areas where there are acacia plants which is a thorny and small tree because it is the giraffe's favourite food. Regions with no trees and low vegetation are not suitable for the giraffe to live in because it is difficult for giraffes to bend their necks to reach down to the ground for food. They usually live in the sub-saharan of Africa, from south of Mali to Kenya and south to the north of South Africa. They stay around rivers or waterholes when it is the dry season but during the wet season they will move inland where there is denser vegetation.
Structural Adaptation one Legs And Pacing A girffe's forelegs are slightly ,longer than their hind legs, approximatley 10% longer. Their walking pace is average to slow. However they can run at an incredible speed, sometimes up to 55 kliometers per hour, but it cannot maintain its speed for a long period of time. Lions sometimes prey on giraffe by chasing them and trying to know them over because they are lanky but they are very difficult and sometimes even dangerous prey. They can defend themselves with an extremley powerful kick that can break a lion's spine or even shatter its skull.
Structural Adaptation two Mouth and Tongue A giraffe's tongue can extend up to approximatley 45.7cm. Its long and very flexible tongue is used to pluck leaves from tall trees and collect food into its mouth. The tongue is black/purple in colour and coated with a heavy sticky saliva. Their bottom canine teeth are flat and have deep grooves which makes it easier for them to take branches in their mouths and feed pull off the leaves. They do not have upper incisors or upper canine teeth. Males usually feed with their neck and head at a 180 degree vertical stretch whereas females usually feed at their body height or sometimes even as low as knee height. The tongue is not only used to gather food, but also to cleaning its ears and even its eyes.
Behavioral Adaptation one Breeding habits Unlike most animals, giraffes do not have a mating season. During the year, the female giraffe goes into "estrus" every two weeks. Estrus is the name given to when a female is in heat.To let a male know she is ready to mate, she discharges pheromones when she is in "estrus" . A male giraffe will look for females who are in heat and when he finds one he will nudge her backside using nose to let her know he wants to mate with her. When she is nudged she will release urine and the male will taste it to check if she is in heat and ready to mate. After he knows she is in estrus he will follow her around and try to mount the female and she will walk away at first until she decides to mate, and when she is she will stop and let him mount. He will follow her for hours, even days until she shows him she has decided to mate with him. The mating session is relativley quick and over in a matter of minutes.
Behavioral Adaptation two Diet Giraffes eat mostly plants and leaves. Their favourite food is the acacia plant. The giraffe searches for foods on the twigs of many different trees. A giraffe's tongue is very tough because of the giraffe's diet which contains twigs leaves and thorns. Their lips are also very tough because the acacia plant is covered in thorns. A giraffe can eat up to 29 kilogrammes of twigs and leaves everyday. The giraffe does not need to eat or drink for days.
Physiological Adaptation Circulatory System A giraffe's physical structure has evolved throughout the years. It's heart is 60cm in length and weighs an astounding 10 kilograms. It has to pump almost double the blood pressure of a regular mammal to keep the blood flowing to the brain.
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THE GIRAFFE
Scientific Classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Family: Giraffidae
Genus: Giraffa
Species: Giraffe Camelopardalis
The giraffe is the tallest land-living animal in the world. Its scientific name, Giraffe Camelopardalis refers back to its irregular brown patches on a its light coloured skin, it resembles a leopard's spots. The Giraffe can reach an incredible size of 4.3 to 5.2 meters. A fully grown male giraffe is 1200 kilograms whereas adult females can weigh up to 830 kilogrammes. The giraffe are related to deer but they are placed in a differnt family, The Okapi is the closest relative to the giraffe and both belong in the giraffidae family.
Habitat
Giraffes can be found in the savannas where it is a dry and open woodland, especially areas where there are acacia plants which is a thorny and small tree because it is the giraffe's favourite food. Regions with no trees and low vegetation are not suitable for the giraffe to live in because it is difficult for giraffes to bend their necks to reach down to the ground for food. They usually live in the sub-saharan of Africa, from south of Mali to Kenya and south to the north of South Africa. They stay around rivers or waterholes when it is the dry season but during the wet season they will move inland where there is denser vegetation.
Structural Adaptation one
Legs And Pacing
A girffe's forelegs are slightly ,longer than their hind legs, approximatley 10% longer. Their walking pace is average to slow. However they can run at an incredible speed, sometimes up to 55 kliometers per hour, but it cannot maintain its speed for a long period of time. Lions sometimes prey on giraffe by chasing them and trying to know them over because they are lanky but they are very difficult and sometimes even dangerous prey. They can defend themselves with an extremley powerful kick that can break a lion's spine or even shatter its skull.
Structural Adaptation two
Mouth and Tongue
A giraffe's tongue can extend up to approximatley 45.7cm. Its long and very flexible tongue is used to pluck leaves from tall trees and collect food into its mouth. The tongue is black/purple in colour and coated with a heavy sticky saliva. Their bottom canine teeth are flat and have deep grooves which makes it easier for them to take branches in their mouths and feed pull off the leaves. They do not have upper incisors or upper canine teeth. Males usually feed with their neck and head at a 180 degree vertical stretch whereas females usually feed at their body height or sometimes even as low as knee height. The tongue is not only used to gather food, but also to cleaning its ears and even its eyes.
Behavioral Adaptation one
Breeding habits
Unlike most animals, giraffes do not have a mating season. During the year, the female giraffe goes into "estrus" every two weeks. Estrus is the name given to when a female is in heat.To let a male know she is ready to mate, she discharges pheromones when she is in "estrus" . A male giraffe will look for females who are in heat and when he finds one he will nudge her backside using nose to let her know he wants to mate with her. When she is nudged she will release urine and the male will taste it to check if she is in heat and ready to mate. After he knows she is in estrus he will follow her around and try to mount the female and she will walk away at first until she decides to mate, and when she is she will stop and let him mount. He will follow her for hours, even days until she shows him she has decided to mate with him. The mating session is relativley quick and over in a matter of minutes.
Behavioral Adaptation two
Diet
Giraffes eat mostly plants and leaves. Their favourite food is the acacia plant. The giraffe searches for foods on the twigs of many different trees. A giraffe's tongue is very tough because of the giraffe's diet which contains twigs leaves and thorns. Their lips are also very tough because the acacia plant is covered in thorns. A giraffe can eat up to 29 kilogrammes of twigs and leaves everyday. The giraffe does not need to eat or drink for days.
Physiological Adaptation
Circulatory System
A giraffe's physical structure has evolved throughout the years. It's heart is 60cm in length and weighs an astounding 10 kilograms. It has to pump almost double the blood pressure of a regular mammal to keep the blood flowing to the brain.